The East Wing

Melania Trump Is Aware You See the Irony in Her Anti-Cyberbullying Campaign

Executives from Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter and others gathered for a roundtable discussion with Melania Trump at the White House on Tuesday. People from the public safety and policy arms of these companies were assembled to talk online bullying amongst children, the First Lady’s issue of choice. Trump announced that her cause would be “cyberbullying” in a speech towards the end of the presidential campaign, telling a gathering of Pennsylvania women in 2016, “Technology has changed our universe. But like anything that is powerful it can have a bad side. Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and to teenagers.” Trump, who was slow to hire staff, has intermittently spoken about her cause over the past year, but news of this listening session felt like a big step in some direction.

Which direction specifically was off the record. Reporters who were gathered for her opening remarks were asked to leave for the actual discussion. She welcomed the executives, saying, “In my role as First Lady, I receive many letters from children who have been bullied or feel threatened on social media. I know that each of your companies and groups have been working on these issues for many years, and I look forward to hearing what you have learned, what has been accomplished, and what progress still needs to be made.”

At this point, it’s cliché to note the irony in her choice of cause, but here it is, once more with feeling: Melania’s husband uses his Twitter account to call his opponents inside and outside his administration names, siccing his followers on them. And on Tuesday, the First Lady appeared to acknowledge that she sees that other people see the unavoidable question mark. “I am well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic,” Trump said in her opening remarks. “I have been criticized for my commitment to tackling this issue, and I know that will continue. But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right.”

To be fair, the fact that she’s trying to fix the Internet is not controversial. Very few people are out in the world yelling, “More trolls, please.” It would be fantastic if she could curb bullying and pile-ons and general awfulness that plagues America’s preferred social platforms, especially if she could do so for children. Jack Dorsey would surely be very thankful. It would be just as wonderful if she could save the rest of us from her husband’s lil’ hot hands. But it seems unlikely. She hasn’t been able to convince Donald Trump, the literal president of the United States, that calling other adults “little” and “disgusting” and “nasty” on his favorite platform does not particularly help her cause, and may even worsen it.

The First Lady’s mouthpiece, Stephanie Grisham, went on the defensive against the First Lady’s critics, saying that the meeting was just another day at the East Wing. “We have focused on opioid abuse and addiction, healthy living, kindness and compassion, nutrition, and the importance of education. Today’s topic of social media and technology is no different,” Grisham told CNN. She also said that, “This should be celebrated, not criticized.”

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